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Rhode Island\u2019s first adult-use marijuana sales launched on Thursday, with five dispensaries serving consumers 21 and older.<\/p>\n
Gov. Dan McKee (D) and the state Department of Business Regulation (DBR) announced last week that the \u201chybrid\u201d medical-recreational shops would be opening at the start of the month<\/a>. The governor signed legalization into law in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n #WATCH<\/a>: Recreational marijuana is officially for sale in Rhode Island and 12 News was able to see the first purchase!<\/p>\n Details here: https:\/\/t.co\/Sw65DKnUgD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/juu7mPCCp4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 WPRI 12 (@wpri12) December 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n One of the first sales took place at the Slater Compassion Center, where the 96-year-old father of the dispensary owner purchased infused coconut macaroons and a cookie.<\/p>\n Joe Maraia, 96, grandfather of the CEO at the Slater Compassion Center, bought $40 in coconut macaroons and a cookie as RI begins legalize cannabis sales. Says he plans to sample later with coffee and has not previously used marijuana pic.twitter.com\/nz7EaPcjYT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ian Donnis (@IanDon) December 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n State Sen. Josh Miller (D), who championed legalization in the legislature, said at a dispensary on Thursday that \u201cit\u2019s been a long road, and I hope it works for Rhode Island because we\u2019ve been losing out to other states for quite a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important for Rhode Island to make its mark in the industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Senator Josh Miller & Rep. Scott Slater and Joe Pakuris \u2013 Rhode Island begins the legal sale of adult-use marijuana #WPRO<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/DgI4pkelGK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NewsTalk 99.7 & AM 630 WPRO (@wpro) December 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Another lawmaker, Rep. David Morales (D), shared information for residents about the basics of the state\u2019s cannabis law.<\/p>\n With the sale of recreational cannabis starting today, it\u2019s important to note the following information related to possession, worker\u2019s rights, and expungement!<\/p>\n Courtesy of @RIACLU<\/a>: pic.twitter.com\/TQzxAxlT8L<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RI State Rep. David Morales During the election earlier this month, Rhode Island voters in more than 30 cities were asked to decide on whether or not to allow cannabis businesses to operate within their jurisdictions. Almost all of those cities\u00a0opted in to marijuana commerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rhode Island cities that didn\u2019t place the question on the ballot will allow marijuana marketplaces in their area. Some of the state\u2019s largest cities\u2014including Cranston, Pawtucket, Providence and Warwick\u2014declined to ask voters to decide on the matter, meaning retailers will be permitted by default.<\/p>\n The first five dispensaries that received hybrid licenses are:<\/p>\n DBR started accepting applications for existing dispensaries to become hybrid retailers last month, but the overall licensing process has faced criticism over delays.<\/p>\n McKee has yet to appoint commissioners to oversee the regulation of the adult-use market. Legislative leaders have made recommendations to the governor for those appointments, but nobody has been formally selected yet.<\/p>\n Adding to the difficulty of getting the Cannabis Control Commission together, there have been calls for the governor to reject recommended appointees from House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) after one of his top aides was recently accused of failing to disclose that he was a \u201csilent\u201d partner in a marijuana business, while also reportedly having ties to an alleged mob figure. That staffer has since resigned.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, before the shops opened on Thursday, adults 21 and older were already allowed to legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis and grow up to six plants for personal use, only three of which can be mature, under the law signed by the governor.<\/p>\n There were months of negotiations between lawmakers, advocates, stakeholders and the governor\u2019s office before\u00a0a revised version of the legislation was introduced<\/a>\u00a0in May. But once the text was released, the identical companion bills in both chambers\u00a0quickly advanced through committee<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0were quickly approved on the floor<\/a>.<\/p>\n McKee, who released his\u00a0own reform plan as part of his budget proposal<\/a>\u00a0this year, signed the measure just one day after the legislature sent it to his desk.<\/p>\n \u2014 The primary components of the now-enacted law are largely\u00a0consistent with an earlier version of the bill as introduced<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0considered during earlier committee hearings<\/a>\u00a0in March.<\/p>\n Both the governor and legislative leaders\u2019 legalization plans were notably different than the proposal that former Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) had included in her budget in 2020. Prior to\u00a0leaving office to join the Biden administration<\/a>\u00a0as commerce secretary, she\u00a0called for legalization through a state-run model<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rhode Island lawmakers\u00a0introduced a pair of drug decriminalization bills<\/a>\u00a0in March\u2014including one focused on psilocybin and buprenorphine that would authorize doctors to prescribe the psychedelic mushroom.<\/p>\n Last year, the governor also\u00a0signed a historic bill to allow safe consumption sites<\/a>\u00a0where people could use illicit drugs under medical supervision and receive resources to enter treatment.<\/p>\n The Senate Judiciary Committee also held a hearing last year on legislation that would\u00a0end criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs<\/a>\u00a0and replace them with a $100 fine.<\/p>\n Ohio Senate Votes To Remove Marijuana Paraphernalia Convictions From Criminal Records And Allow Broader Expungement<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Rhode Island\u2019s First Recreational Marijuana Shops Have Officially Opened<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Rhode Island\u2019s first adult-use marijuana sales launched on Thursday, with five dispensaries serving consumers 21 and older. Gov. Dan McKee (D) and the state Department of Business Regulation (DBR) announced last week that the \u201chybrid\u201d medical-recreational shops would be opening at the start of the month. The governor signed legalizationContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":58816,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,18,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58817,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58815\/revisions\/58817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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(@DavidMoralesRI) December 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
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\nRead More: Rhode Island\u2019s First Recreational Marijuana Shops Have Officially Opened<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"